Get Rid of Toxins Danger in the Home Detergent Ingredients

Today with the modern conveniences a dishwasher is an item that most households have. Have you ever stopped to consider what the effects of using this appliance can have on the health of you and your family and also the environment.

The water shortage in many states here in Australia and in the United States means that the developers of these helpful appliances have had their designs refined to use a minimum amount of water. This is a good thing you may say, but at what cost to your health?

We as consumers often take for granted the products we use everyday must be benign if not harmless. We assume if it’s something we purchased from our local, friendly grocery store in the nice packaging it must be safe. This is not always true.

The contents of automatic dishwasher detergents are highly toxic and if you read the label it is clearly stated that it is “harmful if swallowed” and “burns skin and throat” and in one bottle that I retrieved form a friends house (whose husband very sadly died last year from cancer I might add) it is listed as number 8 on the corrosive scale! Now let me ask you, are you totally happy to use a product in your dishwasher to wash your dishes, cups and cutlery which contains ingredients that are so toxic and burn your skin and throat?? And what is more, even if the amount used is small there is more residue left on the surfaces of the crockery and cutlery because our machines do not have as much water to rinse thoroughly. You are consuming an amount of the product daily, whether you want to believe it or not.

Coming from a 3rd world country we never had the luxury of an automatic dishwasher until we immigrated to Australia. I could never understand why my crockery was suddenly becoming very scratched and those with coloured designs had lost their finish? My glassware too was etched and every time we drank out of the cups and glasses we noticed a chemical taste and a noxious odour. While staying at my brother’s home I noticed that each time I opened their cupboard containing glassware I was horrified at the chlorine odour that was obvious. These were glasses that are used daily and come from the dishwasher.

Although it is not proven, I believe that the constant headaches I was suffering from when we first arrived in Australia was partly due to the fumes when opening the dishwasher every morning.

I am so grateful that I found an alternative that is environmentally friendly and safer for my family while still being cost effective.

Is there any wonder why the incidence of cancer of the throat, bowel, esophagus, tongue and stomach etc. are so high?
Ingredients commonly found in automatic dish washing detergents are phosphates, chlorine, bleach and lye.
Because phosphorous is beneficial in softening water, and in breaking down dirt it is a common ingredient in detergents. However, it is highly alkaline and causes burning and drying out of the skin.

When phosphorous enters our rivers and lakes it increases the amount of nutrients available for plant growth causing excessive growth of plants such as algae, known as algal bloom and appearing to turn the lakes green.Algal blooms on the surface of the lake shading the plants growing underneath which then die and decompose. This decomposition requires oxygen, more than is naturally available and the oxygen levels in the lake get used up making it incapable of supporting plant and animal life. The lake then dies.

Chlorine has an intensely disagreeable suffocating odor, and is exceedingly poisonous. It is used in detergents as a bleaching, and disinfecting agent but it makes the products containing them almost unbearable to use and is harmful to persons with respiratory sensitivities such as Asthma and other bronchial diseases. The fumes are often the cause of headaches.Chlorine plays a major role in the depletion of the ozone layer, global warming and acid rain.

Lye (also known as caustic soda) is a highly concentrated watery solution of sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide and is usually combined with animal fats in soap making. This ingredient is corrosive and will dry out the skin.

So you can see that these harsh, abrasive ingredients in automatic dish washing detergents are actually doing more harm than good. The abrasive cleaning action is ruining our crockery and utensils, the residue we consume is making us sick, the effects of which we may only see in years to come, and every time you run your appliance using those products you send toxic waste into our water system and wreak havoc with the environment.

Consider making a healthy choice instead of going with convenience.

If you are experiencing any of the conditions mentioned or have concerns about using toxins such as automatic dish washing detergent or other household products in your home and want to use more environmentally friendly ones, that are safer and more cost effective, then I encourage you to fill out your name and email in the form below and you will receive my newsletter containing helpful healthy information.

Comments

Hi, your article was very interesting to read. I have been looking up /researching on similar stories since my 5 month old baby was diagnosed with eczema. We all have very senstive and dry skin in our family and I am curious to find out if eliminating toxin in our house will treat our condition. I believe it will and I am open to any suggestions and ideas you can provide me wtih. I often wonder why under-developed counterparts do not suffer from extremely dry skin or allergies as much as we do here in the UK.. I would have loved to have gone back to basics when using household products but most of organic products are very expensive in the UK. Nevertheless I am looking into getting rid of harsh chemicals for the benefit of my children. regards, and thank you for your time. ayesha

Thanks for your video with information about toxic dish detergents. My question is: once that you identify which detergents are toxic in your home, how to get rid of them. That is, Do you throw them in the dumpster in the bottle: do you throw the content in the toilet? Do you bury it? I have no idea, and I have not found a way in the internet. Could you advice me? The products I am talking about are for general cleaning and wood oil. Thanks.

Each country has a different law regarding this. I put all my bottles into a box and put them on the roadside for collection when we have our bulk collection. Depending on the contents, pouring them down the toilet is also an option. If you had previously been using these cleaners in your home then you hope that they are still ‘safe’ enough to be disposed of this way.

Please send your newsletter I recently used a capsule with Gain in it and just the smell gave me a horrible headache. I am really worried about this because I have so much Cancer in my family. Thank you.

I can smell residue in the plastic cups and sippy cups for my granddaughter when they come out of the washer. Im wondering if this is affecting her in any way. If I rinse the cuts the smell is gone, but it seems if you just pour whatever she is drinking into the cup, it would be going into her system (or am I just overthinking this?!)

Hi Linda
Thanks for your comment. Everyone’s tollerance level for chemicals and toxins is different, so it’s hard to know what and how much of it may have an effect. If you are noticing the smell, which goes after rinsing, I would assume there is an amount of it in the cups. As I mention in my post everything that goes through the washer usually is an item that would have food on it which will end up being consumed. Cutlery, crockery etc. there will be residue on all these items whether you can see or smell it or not. For this reason I choose to use the non – toxic dish washing alternative that is cost effective, safer for you and your family and very effecient at getting the job done. There are plenty of other prodcuts in the range that may be a safer alternative for you too. Shampoos, soaps and many more. Email me if you would like more information or to discuss anything further.
Have a happy and healthy 2014!

Yes this is very interesting. My mother died of osephogus and cancer and my sister has been given tree weeks with the same thing. Both had dishwashers for twenty years!!!!!!!!!!!!! Really makes me think.

No more dishwashing detergent for us!! I see the residue left on the bottom of clear glasses, and I do
not want that ingested into my body any longer. I wash dishes by hand with a mild holistic detergent,
and then use the dishwasher for RINSING ONLY. I PUT ALL MY DISHES THRU THE WHOLE CYCLE,
WITHOUT ANY DETERGENT!! perfect, clean. no pollutants!

We got a very toxic gas that we are sure came from my dishwasher. I used cascade packets, with dawn and lemon scent. We came home and smelled something. My son thought it came from the dishwasher so he opened it. BIG MISTAKE! His nose and Sinus’s burned bad! We opened Windows and he went outside. We figure this was probably Cloraform gas from the detergent.

Your article made interesting reading. We just bought automatic dishwasher about a fortnight back and after the initial euphoria of seeing sparkling clean dishes is wearing down we realised that there indeed is a chemical smell in the water glasses, probably these are the one which concentrate the smell directly into your nostrils. I am sure other utensils also must be having chemical residues. could you please send me your newsletter on safe dishwasher detergents.
Thanks

Thanks for the info . I’ve been working as a dishwasher Ina restaurant and bought this up to my boss. It seems there cleaning products are even stronger then the everyday brands in supermarkets. I’ve complained of the chlorine gas vapor that immediately rushes at me when opening the dishwasher door . On the five gallon bottle attached to dishwasher it has a corrosion symbol on it . I’m thinking if it’s in a form of a vapor how safe can this be on the lungs

Our dishwasher is situated next to the kitchen sink. Unbeknown to us when we had our dishwasher replaced our plumber changed the water inlet valve from a one way to a two way valve. Residues of water from the dishwater had been backflowing into our drinking water water pipes (for five years!). Both my daughter and I who drink more water than other members of the family had been experiencing stomach problems and other health related issues for sometime. When I took the toxicity information to our doctors to let them know that we may have been consuming these chemicals for a number of years the doctor’s response was, I don’t know anything about these products.’ ( We were sent away without investigating this further). We had the valve changed back and started drinking bottled water. I had been about to take tablets as I constantly had to go to the bathroom to empty my bladder. As soon as I started drinking bottled water that changed and my bladder was back to normal. I expect the chemicals had been irritating the bladder. It’s really scary to think about what these toxins have been doing to the family.

Hi Michaela
It is very concerning that we are being exposed to harsh chemicals and toxins – often without even being aware. We as consumers go down to the local supermarket and purchase things that are readily available on the shelves – thinking they must be safe and everyone is using them, but mostly have ingredients that are ‘cheap’ and ‘nasty’. We bring them into our homes and over the course of time we get sicker and sicker, without really knowing why. Your situation was slightly different in that it was a plumbing issue – however, you were exposed to harmful toxins because of it. I am happy to share a way to minimize exposure and keep yourself and your family safe!